1990 — Page 32

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# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

## ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN

CHAIRMAN (in English):—Ladies and Gentlemen, the meeting is called to order.

## MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 12 June 1990, were confirmed.

## PAPER

The following paper was laid on the table:

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

licences to people to fish in the reservoirs. According to the information supplied by the Department, the popularity is declining.

MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):—Could it be that not many people know about that?

MR. PETER C. K. CHAN (in English):—I think quite a lot of people know about fishing. If you are interested in fishing, you must know where you can get fish and where you can get a licence to do the fishing. Of course, for those people who are not interested in fishing, e.g. non-active fishing persons like me do not know about it.

MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):—Why is it necessary to go through the red tape of getting a licence to fish in the reservoir?

(1) Report to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of June 1990.

## QUESTIONS

MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question (in English):—Will the Urban Council look into the possibility of providing fishing ponds in parks to be leased to commercial operators who will stock them with fish and rent out fishing rods so that residents can go fishing at these ponds?

MR. PETER C. K. CHAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):—Mr. Chairman, the question is whether Urban Council will look into the possibility of providing fishing ponds in parks to be leased to commercial operators who would stock them with fish and rent out fishing rods so that residents can fish in the ponds.

Whilst the suggestion is interesting, and will be examined in detail in due course, I would point out that people who want to fish can do so in the Territory's reservoirs; permits are cheap and easy to obtain. They can also fish in the sea. It is unlikely that serious anglers would wish to fish in the artificial and constricted conditions of small, park-based ponds. Moreover, the decline of farm-based fishing ponds suggests that any existing demand is falling. Such ventures used to enjoy limited popularity in the New Territories but interest has declined in recent years.

Any policy to have such facilities will need to take these points into account.

MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):—Mr. Chairman, does the Chairman of the Recreation Select Committee know whether there are many residents who take up fishing in the reservoirs?

(Mr. Ambrose W. S. CHEUNG arrived at 2:32 p.m.)

MR. PETER C. K. CHAN (in English):—As far as I understand, the appropriate department, not the Urban Council, does issue fishing permits or licences to people to fish in the reservoirs. According to the information supplied by the Department, the popularity is declining.

MR. PETER C. K. CHAN (in English): That is outside our Department, but I do understand that they want to regulate the number of people going fishing and that is the normal procedure. We regulate people from drinking liquor by issuing licences. I think it is just common sense.

MR. LAM CHAK-PIU asked the following question (in Cantonese): During the hot summer months in which epidemic diseases can easily spread, unlicensed cooked food stalls mushroom at nightfall at various places in urban Kowloon and Hong Kong. As the Council's control over food hygiene has always been very strict, I would like to know what special measures will be taken by the Council to control and prosecute unlicensed cooked food stalls and to urge the public to pay particular attention to food hygiene this summer?

MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):—Mr. Chairman, this question concerns the measures taken by the Council to control unlicensed cooked food stalls and to urge the public to pay particular attention to food hygiene this summer.

The control of illegal cooked food hawkers has always been accorded the highest priority in the work of the hawker control staff. Regular raiding operations are carried out in each district but more frequently in the summer months. Joint operations are also conducted with the Police both within and outside the normal operation hours of the General Duties Team. For the first five months in 1990 (ending 31 May 1990), 1,503 raiding operations were launched, resulting in 2,070 arrests.

The food and commodities displayed for sale and the equipment used by the unlicensed hawkers are normally seized during the raids. Forfeiture of the seized items is mandatory upon conviction of the offender.

An Inter-departmental Committee on Public Education on Food Hygiene has worked out a publicity programme for the current year to dissuade the

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